Marco Bortolami – Portrait

03.04.2008

In a country of soccer fanatics, Italy's Marco Bortolani opted for rugby. He was a born leader, and a leader he remains. He's been collecting laurels since he started playing. He was named captain of his local club, Padua, when he was only 15. At 21, he took charge of the Italian national team. Same story at Narbonne. He entered the record books when he became the first Italian to captain an English squad upon joining Gloucester. Back in Italy, he is still a captain, currently of the Parma Herons.

Chicken Rugby Club
Milan, 1954. Cesare Ghezzi founds the first Milanese rugby club and introduces Italian boys to the rigors of the sport. Ghezzi understood rugby better than he understood English, and for some reason decided to name his team the Chicken Rugby Club. For over 60 years, it has remained Italy's foremost academy of the art of the oval ball, but it teaches more than that. "The Chickens" also transmits a strong sense of social responsibility, hard work and loyalty. These are the same values that inspire Marco Bortolani, Chicken Rugby Club's presiding spirit. Those same values explain why Le Coq Sportif does its part in helping the club's little chicks develop into fighting cocks on the field.

Our Idea of SportsA training ground for life, the generator of well-being and vitality, a source of fun and fellow feeling, communication and cooperation--that's been our vision of what sport represents for a century and a half. These are still the values that guide the heroes we choose to join us on our journey. We chose them because they expend as much energy fighting for causes off the playing field as they do fighting for victory on it.